A spokeswoman at HP confirmed the appointment as chief of staff to Whitman: "Paul starts his new job in August and we'll be making a formal announcement regarding his successor nearer the time."

Interviews are currently in the final stages, we understand, and an internal candidate is expected to replace Hunter.

Hunter succeeds another Brit, Jacqui Ferguson, who was made veep chief of staff in March '12, though her next role in HP is not yet confirmed.

The chief of staff position involves organising meetings and customer events, working closely with the channel and making sure daily duties performed by Whitman run smoothly, sources told us.

As revealed several weeks back, Kevin Matthews, HP head of channel for the enterprise group, is presently handing over the keys to his office to UK HP networking boss John Ansell. Matthews' next role in HP UK is to be confirmed. ®